yeoman

I'm going to plant sunflowers, then corn, then soybeans this Spring and in the Fall, replace the sunflowers with winter wheat, leaving the corn and beans standing through winter.

I'd like to plant a crop the deer prefer to the above in Spring to lessen the damage to the new plants and in the Fall, to lengthen the availability of the standing crops.

I'm leaning towards clover in Spring and Brassicas in Fall. Do you think these will out-draw the 3 crops above at those times?

ktswisher

Thats what worked for me. I had always planted just grain sorghum and corn but had nothing left by winter and ended up putting in some plots with both clover and a couple of different brassica mixes and it took quite a bit of pressure off.

Criggster

Clover should definitely draw more deer than sunflowers and corn, but I'm not sure about the beans. It wil be interesting to see if the deer prefer the brassicas over the beans and corn. Keep us posted.

farm hunter

Clover for Spring and summer- to keep them off the corn. A 1 acre Clover plot will help protect a 2 acre corn plot very well.

Soybeans are very interesting. They can withstand tons of summer foraging (which makes it a great warm season plot) - and still make alot of beans. You will be surprised how many beansproduce -even with heavy foraging.

Both corn and soybeans are most vulnerable in the 1st 4-8 weeks of growth. Corn especially - funny but my deer leave the beans pretty much alone until Early July- then you start to see them in them more and more. But they have trouble walking across a corn plot and not nipping off the tops of the 6-12" corn. Even corn can handle deer munching on them more than people think. The part of the corn stalk where the ear is - remains "underground" until the plant is about 2 ft tall - then shoots up.

For me - the biggest problem is Canada Geese and Turkeys. Especially for corn. They will walk up and down rows yanking out 3-4" corn plants - and eating the "corn" seed at the base. They leave the little corn plant (minus its roots) laying there.

Your best defense is to plant at the same time all the farmers plant their corn - and reduce the chances that they'll be on YOUR plots. ANd don't spray too early - the weed growth early on helps hide the corn - and when sprayed (roundup ready corn) - leaves the corn only- when its strong enough to make it.

6/19 - day of spraying



7-4 - same field



Hunt the turkeys - that helps keep them skittish of the fields.

FH

timbercruiser

I keep hoping someone will give some first hand knowledge of Lab-Lab. Looks a little like some sort of pea or soybean in the pictures, but I havn't seen good close up pictures.

yeoman

Farmhunter, I don't have a problem with resident geese and unfortunately don't have turkeys either. I will have a small amount of groundhog and rabbit damage but deer are the big threat. I was going to plant the clover early, about 6 weeks before the corn. Think that will get established enough to help by then? I plan to plant my corn about two weeks behind the farmer next door, hoping the deer get on his crop and don't realize mine's available so soon. Yeah, right. I'll delay my beans by the same amount behind the nearest other beans, partly for early browse relief but also because it seems they peak in attractiveness to the deer during the second week of November, our rut in Maryland, if I plant around July 1.

No one has commented much on whether or not a Brassicas or some other plant will take pressure off in the Fall. I know they have lost interest in my clover shortly after the first frost in prior years.

farm hunter

yeoman -

6 weeks could be enough of a head start for clover - especially if you get good temps and moisture over that period.

A good greenup all the way around will help alot too.

As far as a planting to take the pressure of the plot in the fall - I don't like brassicas at all - I've tried them 3 times with less than good results - both spring and summer plantings. Still - I hear others say how good they are.

For fall, our deer ignore the corn, and beans as soon as they yellow in September. Its not until much later - like November that they start eating the bean pods and seriously eat on the standing corn ears.

If you have alot of deer - and not much corn/beans - I suppose that they could get on the corn & beans early - especially if you do not have acorns, apples or other mast around. Cereal Rye will attract a lot of deer - and stay green right through winter. - thats what I'd go with.

FH

yeoman

Farmhunter, any idea why the Brassicas didn't work for you? I would think New York would be ideal for "all green" plants.

Where I am in Fall, when I've had the farmer leave standing corn in the turn row, it's been hammered and gone before Thanksgiving, even though I do have good acorn and persimmon availability. It may just be that the field is very hidden and private so they spend more time there than other places. I will have the wheat, but not much available till mid-November.

Psandu, I'd be blunt too if I could score a nice 2 row planter on Ebay like you managed to do.

psandhu

yeoman, 75 bucks is a good price, no, it's a great price for a 2 row planter. but the rest of the story is that everything except the main axle was rusted together. the seed shaft, gears, and every other moving partwas rusted together. it took me 2 weeks of an hour or two every night to get it back into working order. lots of penetrating oil, wire wheel brushing, blow torching, etc.

farm hunter

yeoman -

The brassicas grow great - just nothing eats 'em.

I think that if its true that the deer aren't keen on brassica's till after afew frosts - then by then - we have several feet of snow - and - rather than dig for the brassica- they eat our corn.

Otherwise I don't know - i wish they would - Its easy to grow.

FH